It's an Irish root thing

Sam's saying the last few days when he spots anything green that could be associated with St. Patrick's day, was "It's an Irish root thing right?".  We do have Irish roots and we are quite proud of them.  This year I shared more of the history of the day with Sam and Zeke and it made the day even more special.  So, I will share with you what St. Patrick's Day is all about from the perspective of our four year old.  For most this is common knowledge, but it's still a really cool story.

See, St. Patrick wasn't born in Ireland, he was kidnapped and taken there to work as a slave.  He escaped and went back to his home in Britian and later returned to Ireland after becoming a priest.  Back in Ireland he taught the Irish people about the love of God.  As he shared the his faith and more people listened, the snakes in Ireland (aka the poor choices and bad influences) where kicked out.  This is why you often see snakes in pictures of St. Patrick.  To help the people understand better about the power of God, St. Patrick is said to have used shamrocks to represent the trinity (most shamrocks have 3 sections on the clover)...the Father...the Son...and the Holy Spirit.  Sam thought this part was really cool, because, as Catholics, we make the sign of the cross in reverence before and after prayers.  You see it really is "an Irish root thing" because St. Patrick brought our faith to Ireland and our ancestors came from Ireland and brought that love and trust in our God with them.  It's a blessing to be Irish in our eyes and a day of much Catholic celebration. 

Now the little leprechauns and pots of gold are just some added fun to celebrate the luck of the Irish.  A little leprechaun visited our house and sprinkled it with green and shamrocks....and got in a little mischief along the way.  We made some thin mint puppy chow to celebrate the day and tried the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner.  I am the only one that likes corned beef I discovered, but Sam enjoyed the cabbage (brussel sprouts) with me.  And, our Zeke, turned 1 1/2 on the day of green, so it was extra special.

An Irish Blessing

 May the road rise to meet you,

 May the wind always be at your back, 

 May the sun shine warm upon your face,

 May the rains fall softly upon your fields,

 And until we meet again, may God hold

 you in the palm of His hand.